(Yicai) May 19 -- Gotion High-Tech, whose biggest investor is Volkswagen Group, said its first pilot line for all-solid-state batteries has gone live.

The pilot line has an annual capacity of 0.2 gigawatt-hours, achieving a 90 percent yield rate during test runs, the Hefei-based firm announced at its annual Global Technology Conference held from May 16 through 17.

Compared with traditional lithium-ion batteries, the all-solid-state cells show improved energy density and safety, Gotion noted, adding that trial products have been delivered to clients for road testing.

Gotion aims to optimize the existing all-solid-state battery system, production processes, and performance metrics this year while gradually launching products based on client needs, said Pan Ruijun, chief engineer of all-solid-state battery development at the firm.

"Mass production of all-solid-state batteries will still take several years," Pan noted. "Challenges include not only R&D hurdles but also phasing out old battery capacity and building a new supply chain ecosystem tailored to solid-state tech."

In addition, Gotion said its quasi-solid-state battery, codenamed G Yuan, has achieved a range of 1,000 kilometers for passenger vehicles.

Semi-solid-state batteries are expected to dominate the market over the next five years, while all-solid-state technology remains in the early stages, said Zhu Xingbao, chief scientist of Gotion. It's unrealistic to expect rapid commercialization of all-solid-state batteries anytime soon, he noted.

"This is why Gotion is developing both semi-solid and all-solid-state battery technologies simultaneously," with the company planning to construct a semi-solid-state battery production line with an annual capacity of 12 GWh, Zhu pointed out.

The new G Yuan battery boasts an energy density of 300 watt-hours per kilogram, enabling electric vehicles to surpass the 1,000-km range milestone, Zhu said. "The prototype vehicle 'No. 001' equipped with the G Yuan has already logged over 10,000 km in testing," Zhu added.

Semi-solid-state batteries significantly outperform traditional liquid-electrolyte cells in energy density, their electrolyte layers are not fully solid at the microscopic level, differing structurally from all-solid-state designs.

Shares of Gotion [SHE: 002074] ended 0.1 up at CNY23.12 (USD3.21) apiece in Shanghai today.

Editor: Martin Kadiev